I often recommend Inkscape to people who are new to Big Blue Saw and CAD design. Inkscape is a a zero-cost, open source drawing tool that's simple to use, but also quite powerful. If you need very precise lines and curves in a design, you need to use software like Inkscape, which can create and manipulate vector graphics.

Our own Big Blue Saw Designer is useful for creating many kinds of parts, but it doesn't have the file import/export capabilities or sophisticated curve and shape tools that Inkscape has.

The example below created using Inkscape version 0.47. Follow along with it to see how you can design a simple part using Inkscape.

Here is the part we will be making. Two of these parts can be slotted together to form a small square stand, perfect for elevating your rubber duck to protect it from passing predators, among other things.

Here is what Inkscape looks like when it first starts up. What a wonderful selection of buttons and controls! The main area depicts a piece of letter-sized paper to help you have some idea of the scale of the drawing.

We will start by drawing a square for the outline of our part. Click on the rectangle drawing button, then drag in the document area.

Next, you want to resize the rectangle so that it is a precise 2 inch square. On the toolbar, there is a drop down list which shows the measurement units for your new rectangle. By default, this is set to "px" (pixels). Change the units to "in" (inches). Then enter "2" for both the width ("W") and height ("H") and press the Enter key on your keyboard.

Now you are ready to create the slot in the edge of the square. Using the rectangle tool as before, draw a thin rectangle near the right size and location.

This creates a another black shape, which is hard to see against our existing black outline. Change its color to white by clicking on the palette just underneath the drawing area.

Now switch to selection mode by clicking on the selection tool on the tool palette on the left-hand side of the window.

We want the slot to extend halfway down the square and be just wide enough to accommodate a 0.236 inch thick piece of acrylic. So on the geometry toolbar, after making sure that the units are set to "in", enter "0.236" for the rectangle's width and "1" for its height. Then press Enter.

The slot needs to extend from the top-center of the outer square to the middle of the square. We can get the slot in the exact position by using Inkscape's alignment tools. Click on the slot rectangle, hold down the Shift key, and click on the square. This will cause both objects to be selected. Open the Alignment panel by choosing Object | Align and Distribute from the menu or by or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-A.

Click the "Center objects horizontally" button to place the slot in the middle of the square.

Then click the "Align top edges" button to move the slot to the top edge of the square.

To get a better idea of how Inkscape will export the file when you are ready to send it to Big Blue Saw, switch to outline mode by choosing View | Display Mode | Outline from the menu. This will hide the fill colors of the shapes and show all lines with the same width.

If you take a look at Big Blue Saw's FAQ on vector file formatting, you'll notice that we need to make sure that the lines in our file trace the outline of the part and do not cross. The drawing is not quite right at this point; the top of the slot is still closed off. At this point, we can make the smaller rectangle a cut out from the larger square.

You will need to make sure that the slot crosses over the outline of the square. This will ensure that the square's edge follows the contour of the slot. Make the slot slightly taller by clicking on it and dragging the center resize handle at the top.

Now add the square to the selection by holding down the Shift key and clicking on it. Choose Path | Difference from the menu cut the slot from the square.

The new object is a square with a slot cut in it. It's a little hard to see because Inkscape displays a dotted line around the currently selected objects. Click on the background to remove that outline and see the just the outline of your part.

At this point, the file is ready to be exported for use with Big Blue Saw. Choose File | Save from the menu and pick "AutoCAD DXF R12 (*.dxf)" for the file format.

After you click the "Save" button, you will be prompted for several "PostScript". Just leave these at the default.

At this point, you have a DXF file suitable for use with Big Blue Saw. You can upload the file to our online quotation system. From the online quotation system, you can choose your material, and order your part online.

Based in Atlanta, Hazel Studsill of HJ Designs is a jewelry maker, artist and designer. Her jewelry is made using a variety of materials, including the traditional gold and silver, but she has recently branched into upcylcling materials like plastics into new and beautiful things. Recently, I helped her use laser cutting in an upcycling project which turned used acrylic into beautiful lighting.

In this interview, Hazel talks about her inspiration, her techniques, and more.

I've been a member of the Surfrider Foundation for about a year. I've been aware of the beach cleanup that is trying to happen. As well as the big plastic collection that happens over in the Pacific, that big channel where the plastic is starting to collect and build itself its own little island. So I'm working on a series of necklaces right now that incorporate both Sterling as well as Plexiglas to bring awareness towards that. A portion of the sales will go to the Surfrider Foundation.

About working with Big Blue Saw, Hazel remarked:

It was great working with you; you were more than accommodating where others were not.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Igor Knezevic of Alienology, a Los Angeles design studio. Igor creates, among other things, jewelry and lighting. His work makes extensive use of modern manufacturing techniques, like waterjet cutting, laser cutting, and 3D printing.

In this interview, he talks about the Milan Design Festival, problems facing young designers, as well as his own work and inspiration.

Igor talked about how attending the Milan Design Festival ultimately led to him using modern computerized rapid production techniques to realize his designs. He asked a simple question to the various designers he met about their work:

"Can I buy it?"

...Invariably, your would get an answer sort of like: "This is a prototype and now we are looking for a manufacturer and distributor"... 95% would tell me the same thing.

I went out of there thinking "Am I crazy or are they crazy?"... Finding a distributor and a company that will manufacturer that will actually license that from you is just like releasing a music CD; it's a slim chance. And I went out of there thinking, you know what, when I do my stuff, I'm just going to make it. It must be available for sale. What's the point in making endless series of prototypes and then looking for somebody to license to? Because once you license stuff out, you're lucky if you get 4-10% of sales.

[...]

I think that there's a whole new time coming where a manufacturer like [Big Blue Saw] can help us designers to do our little short series of objects that we can revise frequently and improve them. Then I, the designer, can go on the business side and say "look, now I have it available".

Big Blue Saw's Summer Sale On Waterjet And Laser Cutting

We are discounting parts made form two of our most popular materials: 0.1 inch thick aluminum 6061 and 0.236 inch thick clear acrylic plastic. During the sale, setup charges will be drastically reduced so that you can get great savings on small orders. For instance, the medicine cabinet shelf which was featured recently is normally $24.00, but during the sale will cost only $18.10, a 25% savings. You can save even more on aluminum parts: our "butterfly" example part will cost only $8.10 for a single part, a 90% savings off the regular cost!

Just place your order online from Monday, July 12, 2010 through Wednesday, July 14, 2010 to receive the discounted price.

It's summertime and the weekend is almost here. Time to go tobogganing!

Not practical, you say? Well, just check out this article posted on the always-amusing Modern Mechanix blog (from a 1931 issue of Modern Mechanics magazine): "Toboggans on Pine Needles". It gives details on how you can make a fun toboggan run that slides on pine needles so that you can engage in your favorite wintertime activities in the summer.